Is the work worth it??

Well.. I have an 86 Subaru XT GL Coupe, and I was thinking about swapping out the engine with a Turbocharged 2.5L STi engine, and some other various upgrades. I wanted to know whether doing this is going to end up being a bad idea. would it be worth putting in the money, or is resale going to be impossible.. It would be a nice car when I'm done, and it already has sentimental value.. Is there a point at which i should stop the work on it, im not sure how far to go with this 'project' or if i should even do it..

Comments / opinions appreciated...

Are you doing it to make a neat car, or are you doing it to make a profit?

jw

i dont think i could stand 'not' to do it now.. im just gonna go for it.. I plan on driving it anyway and makin it will be fun

resale value will be approximately blue book, despite the fact that you may have put in say 10 grand in mods.

if you're looking as a possible return on investment.. very poor. if you love the car and will run it until the door pannels rust off, then you'll probably be quite happy.

jm2c ken

Who is your engine source? A salvage yard? What are STi engines going for? Unless they're dirt cheap, I'd say this project is a waste of money. I doubt the XT's transmission, differentials, and drive shafts are going to survive the tremendous torque produced by the 2.5 Sti, so you're going to have to replace those, as well. The XT's a great car in its own right, why not see if you can squeeze a bit more power out of its powerplant. Is it turbocharged? If so, try an aftermarket boost controller, exhaust mods, etc.

Well, from a purely monetary standpoint (and it isn't; you've already said it has sentimental value) a mint 86 GL XT with 1,000 miles (yes - just 1k) on it and all options might fetch $1100.ºº. So *afaict*, for all your work, time, and $ invested your resale value would be worth the STI motor, drivetrain, dif's, tranny, computer/ECU upgrades... But it would be one hell of a sleeper! Terry - '02 Regatta-Red GT wagon 5spd - 25,000 miles '03 Silver Legacy SE auto-sedan - 2450 miles Yakima / TandeMover / Rockymount rack To reply, get rid of the "nonsense"

You should put this in:

(EJ20T for $800)

or here's one with transmission:

(EJ20T with transmission for $4k)

Comments / opinions appreciated...

STi Shortblock goes for $1400 from the dealer. Can't speak for the rest of the components (heads, turbo, IC, injectors, trans, etc...)